Australian news, and some related international items

Australia would back USA and Israel attacking Iran, just like it backed attack on Iraq

Gillard’s statements on Iran were a declaration of Australian support for war.

Gillard asserted that Iran “refuses to take the urgent steps necessary to build confidence that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”In fact, Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities have repeatedly uncovered no evidence of the development of nuclear weapons—any more than UN inspectors found “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq.

Australian PM demands UN rubberstamp war on Syria and Iran World Socialist Website By James Cogan 28 September 2012Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, demanding that the UN endorse imperialist intervention into Syria and rubberstamp a US bombardment of Iran…

.. Gillard’s statements on Iran were a declaration of Australian support for war. She repeated every lie that
US President Obama had told the UN the previous day about the motives
behind the steady build-up toward an American attack on Iran. In words
that recalled the lies and falsifications told by Australian officials
during UN sessions in 2002, before the criminal invasion of Iraq,
Gillard pontificated that the “international community must also unite
in guarding against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
Gillard asserted that Iran “refuses to take the urgent steps necessary to build confidence that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”
In fact, Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities have repeatedly uncovered no evidence of the development of nuclear weapons—any more than UN inspectors found “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq. The Iranian
regime has insisted that it is pursuing its right to develop a nuclear
energy industry.
Gillard nevertheless joined the US and Israeli governments in accusing
Iran of moving “closer to having the capacity to produce weapons-grade
material” and declaring that “a nuclear armed Iran would be a major
threat to regional and global security.” She echoed Obama’s threat
that “time is not unlimited” before a murderous bombardment of Iran
would be unleashed.
Gillard stated: “There remains the opportunity for diplomacy, backed
up by robust sanctions, to persuade Iran to change course. Iran must
take the opportunity to change and the nations of this assembly must
press Iran to do so.”
In other words, when the Iranian government fails to do the
impossible—satisfy the ultimatums from Washington—Australia will join
the US in another criminal “coalition of the willing” and an
imperialist atrocity of the highest order. The destruction of Iran’s
nuclear reactors, and the potential release of radiation, could
threaten the lives of millions of people.
Australian imperialism is preparing to be an active participant, not a
bystander. US bombing operations would be guided from the Pine Gap
communication base in northern Australia. The Australian navy has a
warship assigned to the US flotilla in the Persian Gulf. Given that
Australian special forces played a leading role in the invasion of
Iraq, Special Air Service (SAS) and commando units, still involved in
the occupation of Afghanistan, could be covertly deployed over the
border into Iran.
Gillard’s stance behind a war on Iran is in line with Labor’s
unconditional alignment with the Obama administration’s “pivot” into
Asia, in order to assert US dominance against China’s growing regional
influence. A major factor in the targeting of Iran by Washington and
its allies is that it is one of the few significant suppliers of oil
and natural gas to China that is not an American client state. Any
attack on Iran will be viewed in Beijing as another US provocation and
as accelerating the build-up toward a confrontation in the Asian
region.
In preparation for a potential war with China, the Labor government
has already offered up the north and west of Australia as staging
bases for the American armed forces to control the sea lanes between
the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with the capacity to blockade China’s
energy and other imports. Behind the backs of the Australian
population, the Australian military is being restructured to serve as
an adjunct to US forces, joining operations that are more and more
openly targeting Chinese interests.
As much as possible, the Australian establishment media has suppressed
any discussion on the implications of Gillard’s line-up with the US
against China. Likewise, the reporting on Gillard’s speech has
focussed not on her bellicose statements against Iran, but on whether
it had advanced Australia’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the
15-member UN Security Council. Her statements established that any
Australian presence on the Security Council would be nothing more than
a compliant mouthpiece for US militarism in the Middle East, in Asia
and internationally.http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/sep2012/gill-s28.shtml

Do not be fooled by the pro nuclear hype from Kevin Scarce. Here’s an example. Check these two news stories:

Canada’s $6b nuclear industry a role model for Aust says royal commissioner “…..According to the royal commissioner investigating a possible nuclear industry for South Australia, Kevin Scarce, an Australian nuclear industry can be “future-proofed” against the potentially massive changes coming to the energy sector…….He says Canada is the best role model for Australia